Giuseppe Martucci's lifespan roughly corresponds to the latter half of Giuseppe
Verdi's rather longer one. His output might be considered a bizarro version
of his older countryman's oeuvre. Where Verdi concentrated on composing operas,
many of which remain repertoire staples, Martucci produced a fair amount of
instrumental music: symphonic, chamber, solo piano, a single song-cycle and
no operas at all.

That said, the unsuspecting listener could be forgiven for thinking that the
introduction to the D minor piano concerto - the horns intoning a call to
attention in quiet octaves, followed by gradually expanding string tremolos
- was, rather, one to an operatic scena out of middle-period Verdi.
The passage shortly thereafter, heralded by octave pizzicatos, fits right
into that scene. The soloist's imposing entrance chords finally dispel that
impression. The give and take between piano and orchestra as the tempo picks
up evinces a Schumann-Mendelssohn influence, while the second theme and some
passages in the development are Chopinesque in texture, though with more skilfully
wrought orchestral backings.

In the Andante, after an introductory string chorale, the piano takes
over in a style which again suggests Chopin, with lightly chordal left-hand
accompaniment. The faster motion at 3:28, with the busy piano figurations
weaving around various orchestral melodic strands unexpectedly prefigures
Rachmaninov. The finale begins uneasily, with brief vaulting figures under
quiet, rustling accompaniments. It gradually opens into an agitated chordal
theme on the piano; the movement is dramatic and concisely argued.

For all the suggestions of more familiar composers, the concerto as a whole
doesn't sound derivative. Martucci subsumes the diverse stylistic traits and
tics into a distinctive voice of his own, melodic and passionate, encompassing
sustained introspection as well as externalized drama. And the score certainly
has persuasive advocates here. Gesualdo Coggi plays the block chords with
deep, resonant tone - stunningly reproduced by the Naxos engineers - and brings
off the various rippling figurations with dexterous clarity. He gets first-rate
support from Francesco La Vecchia and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma. The
ensemble is strong in all departments, but the strings, tonally vibrant and
trimly phrased, are particularly beautiful.

The song-cycle of the nineteenth century was primarily a German and French
phenomenon, so Martucci's La canzone dei ricordi ("The Song of Memories")
stood as an anomaly. The texts, by Neapolitan poet Rocco Emanuele Pagliara,
are suggestive as the narrator alternates between vivid memories and present-day
ruminations upon them. While the composer avoided opera, he clearly understood
the voice, fashioning grateful, effective phrases for it. In the opening meditative
song, the orchestral writing is tentative and a bit pale; after that, Martucci
etches more strongly colored sounds. The tuttis expand and blossom
in a way that, even without heavy brass, foreshadows the splashier palette
and busier textures of Respighi in the twentieth century.

The orchestral playing, once again, is excellent. The strings handle the quiet
opening song with clean assurance, and distil the concentrated atmosphere
of the introduction to Un vago memorio. In Fior di ginestra,
the oboe is full and expressive, while the succeeding passage for clarinet,
horn and pizzicato strings sounds oddly Neo-classical.

I just wish the singing was better. Silvia Masini's voice, unlike those of
some other current practitioners, sounds authentically mezzo, with a natural
darkness; but it isn't firmly grounded. She sounds diffuse in that opening
song, with some iffy tuning of the tricky, angular phrases. She improves later
on, when she can sing out more; even so, she pulls away from the voice for
softer effects, turning fluttery on the concluding diminuendo of Su'l
mar la navicella. The singer brings some chest voice into the lower cadences
of Un vago mormorio, but inefficiently, as if she's not entirely sure
how to do it.

The concerto, at least, could hardly be bettered, and it's unlikely that another
account of the song-cycle will become readily available so this issue can
be recommended as it stands. As suggested earlier, the Naxos engineering is
excellent, but I'll pick a few nits about their production. The pause between
the first two movements of the piano concerto is too brief - another second
or two would have let the end of the first clear properly. The booklet offers
the song texts in Italian only; more irritating, the Italian program notes,
by Marta Marullo, are more detailed and informative than those in English
by Richard Whitehouse, serviceable though they are!

Stephen Francis Vasta
This issue can be recommended as it stands - I just wish the singing was better.

Editor’s Note: Other versions - now deleted or possibly hard
to track down - include Hyperion,
Claves (CD 50-9807) and, amid a complete orchestral collection, on Brilliant
93439 or ASV CDDCA408. The works on the Naxos disc are replicated on ASV CDDCA
690. RB